Description
What You’ll Need: A rustic, ultra-moist French apple cake made with firm baking apples, a touch of vanilla, and dark rum. Simple ingredients, elegant flavor, and a crisp sugared crust.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the Cake
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled ((125 g))
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (1 stick / 115 g)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar (plus more for sprinkling (about 1-2 Tbsp))
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 Tbsp dark rum
- 2 large firm baking apples, chopped (about 3 1/2-4 cups)
For Serving (Optional)
- confectioners' sugar (for dusting)
Instructions
- Preheat & prepare pan: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Generously butter an 8- or 9-inch round pan; line bottom with parchment and butter the parchment.
- Whisk dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined.
- Cream butter & sugar: In a large bowl with a mixer, beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar on medium-high 3–4 minutes until pale and fluffy.
- Add eggs, vanilla & rum: Beat in eggs one at a time, then mix in vanilla and dark rum. (Mixture may look slightly curdled; that’s okay.)
- Combine & fold apples: On low speed, mix in dry ingredients just until the last streaks of flour disappear. Fold in chopped apples gently with a spatula.
- Bake: Scrape batter into pan; smooth top. Sprinkle 1–2 Tbsp sugar over the surface. Bake 40–50 minutes, until deep golden and a tester comes out clean.
- Cool & serve: Cool 15 minutes in pan, then run a knife around edges and invert onto a rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving, if desired.
Notes
Apple tip: Use firm baking apples that hold shape (e.g., Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Granny Smith). For a brandy twist, swap rum with Calvados. A sugar sprinkle creates a crisp crust.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Cake, Dessert
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Calories: 295
- Sugar: 25
- Fat: 13
- Saturated Fat: 8
- Carbohydrates: 38
- Protein: 3
